Fantasy Sports: Injuries put hurt on NFL season for many owners

Saturday

Dec 7, 2013 at 11:40 PM

Josh Bousquet Fantasy Sports

The fantasy football playoffs start in many leagues this week, but not all of us are lucky enough to be there.

For a not-exactly-hypothetical example, if you left your draft with Julio Jones, Reggie Wayne and Doug Martin, chances are you weren't among the cream of your league with them all landing on injured reserve. Anyone with Aaron Rodgers, Arian Foster, David Wilson or Randall Cobb probably also had difficulty remaining relevant.

Injuries are just part of the fantasy game, the most obvious of the surprises that no one could have predicted, yet still help determine the outcome of the season.

Some of them are directly related, like with the Buccaneers losing Martin from their backfield with a shoulder injury, and then Mike James with a fractured ankle leading to the possibility that fantasy owners can legitimately think of starting Bobby Rainey this week.

The Bucs first gave Rainey extended action against the Falcons on Nov. 17, when he rushed 30 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns, while also catching a pass for a score — not a bad calling card. The last two games, however, have not been as momentous, as he rushed 18 times for 35 yards against the Lions and 17 times for 63 yards against the Panthers without scoring again.

Tampa Bay gets to host Buffalo today, though, and the Bills are the 24th-ranked defense against the run, allowing 121.5 yards per game. That makes Rainey a better play today than many backs who we thought would be great entering this season.

The injuries to Foster, Wilson and Martin can't be helped, but we are left feeling like the subpar performances from players like C.J. Spiller, Ray Rice and Trent Richardson could have been. Heading into the season, it looked like the running back position was starting to reclaim some of its depth that had been dwindling over the past five or so years. Now, though, it seems we will be back to scrambling for the few elites again in next year's draft.

That prominent use of a top running back isn't limited to the fantasy, either, as the Seahawks have made themselves the best team in the league largely on the legs of Marshawn Lynch.

Apologia — I understand that Seattle also has the top-ranked overall defense (284.5 yards per game) and passing defense (117.3). No one would read this, however, if I talked about defenses.

No matter how good a defense is, you still need to score more points than the other team, and Lynch is the one who makes that happen for the Seahawks. He is sixth in the league with 970 rushing yards, but tied for second with nine rushing touchdowns. Add in a bonus two receiving scores, and his 11 scores trail only Detroit wide receiver Calvin Johnson and New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham (12 each) for total TDs.

The Seahawks are the third-ranked rushing offense in the NFL at 146.2 yards per game, but only 22nd through the air, averaging 218.2 passing yards a game.

That number is rather middling, but it is even worse from a fantasy perspective because of how well the Seahawks shared that already limited pie. (Call that a Thanksgiving leftover turn of phrase.) Doug Baldwin is the team's leading receiver with 663 yards on 40 catches. Those yards are only good for 34th in the league, a number one could expect to be higher for an 11-1 team. Golden Tate, though, isn't far behind, checking in at 39th with 645 yards on 46 receptions.

They are further sharing their little bit of wealth when it comes to reaching the end zone. Baldwin and Tate both have four receiving touchdowns, as does Jermaine Kearse and tight end Zach Miller. Sidney Rice, who is now on injured reserve, had three. Add that all together, though, and one gets a rather respectable season from quarterback Russell Wilson.

Wilson was a middling quarterback choice in the preseason, not a player who looked poised to join the elite, but an emerging young player with the skills to be serviceable as a starter. He has lived up to that, passing for 22 TDs with only six interceptions. His mobility also brings a nice bonus, for Wilson has rushed for 456 yards.

Denver's Peyton Manning is throwing off the curve on all quarterback numbers this season, but Wilson's 22 passing TDs still is tied for sixth in the league even when paled by Manning's 41. His 2,672 passing yards are only good for 17th, though, and since his legs don't arrive in the end zone as often as Cam Newton's, he remains shy of attaining elite status. Though it should be noted that he has thrown for at least two touchdowns in six straight games (see chart).

He is someone who deserves a little extra offseason attention, though, for the addition of one strong receiver could be enough to send him into the upper echelon. That could be as easily obtained as having Percy Harvin on the field for extended time this season, something that apparently is still being promised for this season.

And if Wilson does then become greater, at least that is something we could have seen coming.